INNISFAIL – The Innisfail Christmas Bureau is ready for the Christmas season.
The bureau had a little help recently from the Innisfail Eagles, with their annual toy and tuque toss during a home game on Nov. 11.
“The outcome has always been great. We’ve had good support from the community,” said committee member Lynn Holinski. “It fills a void out there for a lot of people and it’s a great way for the community to show their support.”
A total of seven bags were collected at this year’s Eagles game.
“It’s our chance to give back to the community,” said Eagles president Brian Spiller. “The community supports us very well and we like to support the community.”
The Innisfail Christmas Bureau is now officially open and hamper registrations began Nov. 14. They will run every Monday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and every Wednesday from 2 to 3:30 p.m. until Dec. 10. The bureau's new address this year is 4944 49th St. across from the Innisfail fire hall.
Hampers will be distributed every Thursday beginning Nov. 29 with the last set of hampers given out on Dec. 13.
“The community support is awesome,” said Karina Lucas, chair of the Innisfail Christmas Bureau, noting Johns Manville is one of the biggest supporters every year.
“They give us a donation every year and they match what the staff raises,” she said. “They’re also doing their Community Christmas Dinner again this year and last year they gave us half of their proceeds and half to the food bank.”
Schools are also involved with the Innisfail Christmas Bureau.
The Innisfail school campus that includes Ecole John Wilson Elementary School, Innisfail Middle School and Innisfail High School is holding a campaign to collect items from Nov. 19 to Dec. 3.
“All three schools participate. They’re really helpful because they bring in the smaller donations that we need, like the stocking stuffer type items such as mittens, socks, games and puzzles,” said Lucas.
Each hamper is filled with a grocery gift card, several smaller items such as stocking stuffers, a tuque, mitts, a game, a book, a puzzle and a main gift for children, valued at around $75 each.
“Last year we had 148 total registrations and that (was) 352 individuals,” said Lucas.
Both cash and new gift donations are being accepted at several locations including the Innisfail municipal office, Healthy Family Chiropractic, Home Hardware, Innisfail Parent Link Centre and Dairy Queen.
For more information visit the Innisfail Christmas Bureau on Facebook or call 403-872-8944.
